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Holder blasts Issa’s conduct as ‘shameful’

05/15/13 03:42 PMUpdated 10/02/13 10:03 PM

Attorney General Eric Holder has faced aggressive questioning in congressional hearings many times, especially from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) who has accused the nation’s chief law-enforcement official of all kinds of misdeeds, but today was the first time I can recall Holder taking offense to unfounded allegations.

At House Judiciary Committee hearing, Issa inquired about communications with Labor Secretary nominee Tom Perez, and stated without proof that the Attorney General was deliberately hiding information from Congress and violating the Federal Records Act.

When Holder tried to respond, Issa tried to cut him off, saying the A.G. didn’t want lawmakers “to see the details.” Holder was not pleased with the accusation, or the effort to prevent him from responding.

“No, no, I’m not going to stop talking now,” Holder said, adding that Issa’s comments were “inappropriate and too consistent with the way in which you conduct yourself as a member of Congress. It is unacceptable [and] it is shameful.”

For those who marvel at Issa’s everyday brazenness, it was a welcome sight to see someone tell the far-right lawmaker what he hears too infrequently.

* Update: The crosstalk makes it hard to transcribe the video, but I’ve updated the quotes to make them as accurate as possible.